13,318 Items Donated in Food Drive

Pinecrest Academy's annual Canned Food Drive was our most successful to date! Our ever-so-generous families donated 13,318 items, which broke a record! This number represented the highest amount of “overall items” and “items per student” since we began this drive several years ago. All items benefit the St. Joseph’s Food Pantry at St. Brendan Catholic Church. This pantry feeds thousands of local families per year.


It took two days, two trucks, six high school students, and other generous helpers, to deliver items to the pantry -- approximately nine hours for loading and unloading! This huge task was spearheaded by Mrs. Gann, Campus Ministry Coordinator.

Some interesting facts about this year’s efforts:
  • A PreK student conducted her own mini-drive in her neighborhood, collecting items in a crate her father made;
  • Another student brought in over 900 items to really bump up the number for the 6th grade class;
  • Two siblings took a wagon door-to-door in their neighborhood, collecting food;
  • In the High School, Ms. McGraw matched the students’ efforts one day during the drive and brought in over 700 items;
  • Middle School students conducted a contest, creating sculptures out of their collected items (see photos on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter!); students were highly motivated by the prizes – taping Mr. Lynch to a light pole (which happened on 12/16/21) and shaving off Mr. Barnett’s beard!
According to Mrs. Gann, the pantry volunteers were moved to tears by PA's generosity and said they have never had a delivery that before. They commented that the shelves would be stocked with certain foods until almost summer!

The enthusiasm for helping others in need during the Christmas season is beautiful to see. While we held competitions between schools and homerooms, the desire to truly make a difference in the lives of our neighbors was evident.  We thank each and every person in our Pinecrest community who contributed to this school wide initiative.